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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23725780">The Affected</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SanityCayCay/pseuds/SanityCayCay'>SanityCayCay</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Original Work</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Apocalypse, F/F, F/M, M/M, Zombie, Zombie Apocalypse</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 10:08:28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>17,085</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23725780</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SanityCayCay/pseuds/SanityCayCay</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>100 years after the world came to the end, only a few people remained the world. Split into two groups, the Campers locked themselves inside of malls, schools, and other such places at the beginning of the end, and continued to live inside, isolated from the dangers that roamed beyond the secured doors. And outside were the Roamers. Small groups of people, few and far between, that roamed the world searching for a cure.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The 1200th Wave</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>THE CAMPERS</strong>
</p><p><br/>Fawn yawns as she blearily reads the last sentence in her research book. The book snaps closed with a small puff of dust, and Fawn's eyes flit over to the ticking clock hanging from the wall.</p><p><br/>Almost curfew...</p><p><br/>It was hard to tell when night fell, as every window in the mall was sturdily boarded up, with only a small amount of sunlight coming through the cracks. The only other light was one florescent in each room, casting shadows all the wall and far too often breaking.</p><p><br/>The folding chair pushes back with a squeal as Fawn trudges over to the shelves, putting the book back in its proper place. Fawn reads the spine one last time. The Great Depression, 1929-1939.</p><p><br/><em>The Great Depression must have been hard</em>, Fawn thinks to herself as she grabs her notepad and pen, beginning the walk to Bedding. <em>Oh, what I would give to have lived through the Great Depression instead of the Lame Apocalypse.</em></p><p><br/>The first-ever settlers to stay in the mall had transformed an old storage unit into the sleeping area for their group. The large shelves now contained cots, the entire room filled with blankets and pillows.</p><p><br/>106 survivors. Fawn reminds herself as she's stopped by Rashi, one of the guards working the night shift.<br/>"Name?" Rashi asks, clicking his pen.</p><p><br/>"Fawn Rallow." Fawn peers at the list, only small enough to cover two pages, as Rashi's finger trails down until reaching her name.</p><p><br/>"Head on in, Fawn." Rashi smiles, and Fawn shyly smiles back. For someone with dried blood under his fingernails, he wasn't that bad looking.</p><p><br/>Bending over, she grabs a pair of nightclothes her size from the big table by the door, hiding behind a panel to change.<br/>Throwing her clothes into the makeshift laundry shoot, she moves over to the cot she shared with Grace Johnson.</p><p><br/>Grace was already asleep, her breathing slow and steady. Sleeping was the only time Fawn could say she looked relaxed.</p><p><br/>Crawling under the well-worn out blankets, Fawn tampers with her pillow until she's comfortable, curling close to Grace.</p><p><br/>Slowly, she drifts off.</p><p><br/>Fawn wakes as Grace lightly shakes her shoulder, the flickering lights temporarily blinding her, and signaling that morning had come.</p><p><br/>"Good morning teacher," Grace says softly, smiling at Livia, who pushes herself up into a seated position.</p><p><br/>"Don't make it weird." Livia laughs, smacking Grace with her pillow and musing Grace's already rumpled hair. "I've still got one more year before my official job assignment."<br/>The two girls hold hands as they go to the showers, getting their early, before the long line.</p><p><br/>An emotionless guard hands Grace some soap, and she awkwardly gets out of her clothes. Fawn does her best to cover her from the slowly arriving crowd.</p><p><br/>Fawn undresses, grabbing a bar of soap, and gets into the second shower. There were only three showers, which was why the guards had to get up earlier. Mainly so they wouldn't be held up in line.</p><p><br/>The warm water falls onto Fawn's long hair. She tilts her head towards the spray and enjoys the warmth for a moment, then begins washing her skin and hair.<br/>Fawn used to be uncomfortable about showering in front of everyone else, but that's just how life is at the mall.</p><p><br/>It was certainly more of an adjustment for Grace, who had come from the outside three years ago.</p><p><br/>As she showered, Grace thought about her little sister Annie. She longed for the days when she, Annie, and their parents still lived in their home. Covering doors and windows with blankets to block out the wave, hiding in the basement. Grace had always liked its low, ominous hum. It had always felt like a victory when they got through a wave.<br/>But then it was just Grace, Annie, and their father.</p><p><br/>And then it was just Grace.</p><p><br/>Tonight was the Wave, the 1200th, to be exact. Some civilians say it should be a celebration, exactly 100 years of surviving and thriving for the camp.</p><p><br/>Some say it's an omen.</p><p><br/>Grace and Fawn change behind a curtain, walking to the old school supplies store, fittingly turned into a school for the twenty-nine children living within the mall.<br/>Grace sits at her chair and opens up her workbook as the other children walk in. Grabbing her pencil, she smiles encouragingly up at Fawn as she sits down at one of the two chairs next to the chalkboard.</p><p><br/>Verity peers around the corner, watching in disgust as the guard for the library, Reid, kisses his boyfriend Arlo.</p><p><br/>"Get a room, you two," Verity calls, making them jump. Snickering she walks up to them, attempting to pass into the library.<br/>Reid holds out an arm to stop her. "Nice try, squirt. Pay up, or we tell Blaine."</p><p><br/>"My payment is not telling Blaine you were snogging your boyfriend instead of guarding it from the person that already snuck inside," Verity tells them cheekily.</p><p><br/>Reid and Arlo hurriedly turn to look inside, and Verity ducks down through the gap between the two into the library.</p><p><br/>"Fair." Arlo sighs. "You win this round, squirt."</p><p><br/>Verity peers at the familiar shelves, sighing when no new books suddenly manifested with more stories to cure her seemingly endless boredom.</p><p><br/>Pushing a stray blonde lock of hair behind her ear, Verity grabs an old favourite, plopping down on the floor and beginning to read.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <strong>THE ROAMERS</strong>
</p><p><br/>Livia rolled over tiredly, squinting at the harsh sunlight that streamed through the cracked windows and holes in the walls of the abandoned house she and her group were staying in.</p><p><br/>Her dog Wolf, a big brutish German shepherd, let out a loud bark when he saw she was awake, making Livia smile tiredly.</p><p><br/>"Hey boy." She whispers, holding her arm out from under the ratty blue blanket she had managed to find.</p><p><br/>Wolf stands and trots over, happily licking her arm before moving up to Livia's face, making her smile and gently push him away.</p><p><br/>Sitting up, Livia stretches with a small groan and stands.</p><p><br/>Grabbing her jeans, Livia pulls them on and heads downstairs, Wolf following after her.</p><p><br/>Already awake and alert, Jacob sat on the green couch in the living room, watching out the window alertly as Livia came down the stairs.</p><p><br/>"Hey." Livia greets him.</p><p><br/>"There's a wave coming." He mutters. The smile falls off Livia's face and she sighs, looking down at Wolf who looks at her with concern before licking her hand comfortingly.<br/>"I liked it here." Livia shifts, "Couldn't we find a house nearby to hide out in?"</p><p><br/>"No." Jacob shakes his head and stands, grabbing Livia's backpack and handing it to her. "All the houses around here are ready to collapse at any minute. We need to find somewhere secure."</p><p><br/>Once Livia had taken her backpack he grabs his own and unzips it, taking out the map they had been using.</p><p><br/>"The closest safe-house there is would be a mall, nineteen miles away." He tells her. "So we have to leave in no more than twenty minutes if we're going to make it."</p><p><br/>Livia nods. "I'll get water."</p><p><br/>Heading into the kitchen, she grabs two non-broken bowls and fills them with water, placing one on the floor. Wolf goes to it, eagerly drinking.</p><p><br/>"Good boy," Livia says softly, grabbing everyone's water bottles and beginning to fill them.</p><p><br/>"Everyone awake!" Jacob yells, running up the stairs, "There's a wave coming!"</p><p><br/>As soon as he yelled the hallway upstairs burst into action as the rest of his group members all came out of the rooms they were staying in and headed downstairs.</p><p><br/>Doll, Barrow's dog, moves over to the second bowl, lapping up the water. Once finished, she moves back over to the small box carrying eight squirming puppies and laying back down.</p><p><br/>Jacob watches Jordan worriedly as his best friend and the only boy in their group his age finally came out of one of the rooms, his hair wild and his arms wrapped tight around his skinny torso in a self hug as he shivered.</p><p>"Hey, buddy." Jacob says softly, "How are you holding up?"</p><p><br/>Jordan does his best to smile reassuringly, despite the burning pain in his legs and the freezing cold everywhere else. "I'll be...f-fine." He manages to get out.</p><p><br/>Jacob nods and wraps his arm around Jordan protectively, helping him down the stairs but trying his best not to seem like Jordan needed any help.</p><p><br/>"Hang tight buddy," Jacob says softly. "We'll get you fixed up soon."</p><p><br/>The boys finally reach the ground floor and Jordan sits on the couch while Jacob and the others frantically pack up all of their belongings, and search the house for supplies one more time.</p><p><br/>Melody grins when she finds a sewing kit and some broken clothes hangers that she could use as arrows. Placing them all into her bag, she heads back into the living room, her nose wrinkling up at the smell of rotten flesh that was slowly seeping through the front door.</p><p><br/>"Affected." She mutters, pulling out her knife. Opening the door, she glances around wearily, before noticing a group of three Affected a small ways away from the house.</p><p><br/>Grinning to herself, Melody sneaks up on them as quietly as she could. Once one of the Affected notices her, she quickly leaps at them, driving her knife into its' skull.<br/>The Affected drops to the ground and Melody quickly stabs the other two.</p><p><br/>"Melody!" Tisha calls from the doorway, "Come back, please! Poppy needs some help with the puppies!"</p><p><br/>Nodding, Melody sprints back into the house.</p><p><br/>"Save your energy kid," Barrow says gruffly. The fifty-two-year-old man was the oldest in the group, but he rarely gave orders, unless it was serious.</p><p><br/>"Why?" Melody asks, "What's going on?"</p><p><br/>"There's a wave coming." Tisha's hand moves to her stomach, protectively resting on her large baby bump. "Jacob says it's quite a trek."</p><p><br/>Melody nods and moves over to Poppy, who was taking the puppies away from their mother Doll.</p><p><br/>"C'mere Doll." Barrow whistles and his adopted silver she-wolf stands and trots over to him. "Atta girl."</p><p><br/>Doll leans into Barrow's petting eagerly.</p><p>Jacob takes out his leftover granola bar and takes a bite before handing the rest to Tisha.</p><p><br/>"Thanks," Tisha says quietly before finishing the bar. Livia smiles and gives Jacob a soft peck on the cheek.</p><p><br/>"How's our food supply?" Melody asks Barrow. He opens his backpack and peers in.</p><p><br/>"Four cans of pears, eight cans of baked beans, three cans of corn, one can of peaches, three cans of mixed vegetables, one can of peas, a jar of peanut butter, a forty pack of granola bars, and twelve bags of assorted chips." He notes, "That seems like a lot, but it's not."</p><p><br/>"I know." Jacob nods, a grave look on his face. "Hopefully we can find something at the mall. Let's head out."</p><p><br/>Livia whistles and Wolf comes running.</p><p><br/>"Hey boy." She whispers, smoothing down the fur on his head, "We gotta go again."</p><p><br/>Wolf barks and goes to sit next to Doll by the front door.</p><p><br/>"Good boy." Livia checks her gun and sighs when she realizes it was empty.</p><p><br/>Jacob notices and takes the gun from her, putting three bullets from his gun into the chamber and handing it back to her.</p><p><br/>"Thanks," Livia says quietly and Jacob gives her a quick kiss on the cheek.</p><p><br/>Walking back into the kitchen, she grabs the two now empty bowls that she had put on the floor for the dogs.</p><p><br/>Jacob finishes filling his flask with the brownish water from the faucet. He puts his mouth under the faucet, gulping the last drops of the water source.<br/>He wipes his lips with his hand and heads to Poppy. "What do you see?"</p><p><br/>Poppy tries harder to peer out one of the grimy kitchen windows.</p><p><br/>"Six unknown things, probably Affected, from the groaning sounds I hear." Poppy shrugs, "What do we do boss?"</p><p><br/>"Probably just beds for some Phase 2 Affected. Let's get moving." Jacob orders, grabbing his bag and walking outside.</p><p><br/>Poppy grabs the box of puppies and she, Melody, Livia, Tisha, Barrow, Jordan, and the two dogs follow him.<br/>Looking out towards the vast land ahead, Jacob takes one step and slashes to his left.</p><p><br/>An Affected, it's pale, thin structure standing out against the bright yellow house, staggers backward at the blow.<br/>Jacob stabs it once more, and the life, well if you could call it a life, was gone.</p><p><br/>Jacob spits on the body and turns to the others. "Watch out."</p><p><br/>Livia nods worriedly, pulling out her gun and following close behind her boyfriend, Wolf obediently walking next to her. "Yeah, sure. I'll try."</p><p><br/>Livia shudders a little at the sight of the Affected. She was unsure why it still bothered her so much, but still, she kept walking, on high alert. Her heart felt like it was pounding out of her chest.</p><p><br/>"How long do you think until the next wave? I'm assuming we have just enough time to get where we're going." Melody asks.</p><p><br/>Poppy stuck close to the back where Barrow, Doll, and her brother Jordan were walking. Melody was the only one that wasn't too uneasy, instead focusing on walking.</p><p><br/>"Well, it's around 9:30. So about fourteen hours till midnight." Jacob took a deep breath, moving one foot in front of the other.</p><p><br/>"Nineteen miles in fourteen hours? How the hell...? Never mind, let's just go." Tisha picked up the pace, lengthening her stride. "We sure can't afford to hit any setbacks."</p><p>Barrow follows the group, taking his usual position at the very back.</p><p>Scanning the wasteland, he gives his input. "Given our usual mile speed of two and a half every hour, we theoretically could make nineteen miles in fourteen hours, but that walk is going to be a bitch." After his piece, he brushes his hand along Doll's fur, before she darts ahead to check on the group.</p><p><br/>"Yes, I know. I don't doubt we are able to do it, but it might be difficult. Hopefully, the weather stays suitable." Livia muttered. She crossed her arms, cautiously glancing at Jacob now and then. He seemed so...cold, much more than usual.</p><p><br/>Jacob trudges along, shielding his eyes from the blazing sun. He looks at the vultures surrounding animal carcasses that varied through the deserted land. If they didn't get killed from the Affected, they probably died from the heat.</p><p><br/>Jacob's eyes catch glimpse of a shimmer in the dirt, and he kneels to inspect the glint.</p><p><br/>As he digs through the sandy dirt, he finds the source.</p><p><br/>A dog tag.</p><p><br/>He looks at the metal, the engraving of a name.</p><p><br/>Dandy.</p><p><br/>He starts to pull the collar out, and jumps back. It's still connected to a skeleton. He shakes it off, walking away without a word about it.</p><p><br/>Livia saw Jacob almost pull a dog skeleton out, but he didn't say a word to her. Wolf yapped when he saw Livia's discouraged face, trying to cheer her up.</p><p><br/>Livia couldn't help but crack a smile and briefly stop to pat him on the head and scratch behind his ear. Livia sighed and kept walking. She was feeling a little dizzy, but what was eighteen more miles?</p><p><br/>Nothing in comparison to the full journey.</p><p><br/>Melody takes a sip of her water bottle then looks over at Jacob. "You okay?"</p><p><br/>"M'fine," Jacob mutters. Poppy and Tisha share a look.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <strong>THE CAMPERS</strong>
</p><p><br/>Verity walks to the cafeteria at noon with everyone else, eagerly watching as they were given their second meal of the day.</p><p><br/>When she finally reached the front of the line, she passed her tray to one of the cooks. When she got it back her plate was loaded with carrots, mashed potatoes, steak, and even some gravy!</p><p><br/>Verity hums in satisfaction and looks over at Grace and Fawn, who were both already eating at the table all the teenagers sat at.</p><p><br/>Walking over, Verity sits at the open seat next to Grace.</p><p><br/>"Harvest must have been really good this year." Fawn comments, and Grace and Verity nod in agreement.</p><p><br/>"They must be if the cooks were willing to use the power to cook all this stuff instead of just having us eat cold beans and stale chips." Grace nods. All three girls shudder.</p><p><br/>"Man..." Verity looks off into the distance, "That was only two years ago. It feels like forever ago."</p><p>"That's what happens during the apocalypse." Grace comments and the girls finish the rest of their meal in silence.</p><p><br/>After mid-morning classes, everyone was dismissed from school to do what they pleased.</p><p><br/>Verity cautiously peeks her head over the corner to see if Reid was still guarding the library, wincing as her eyes slowly carried up to meet Blaine's threatening figure.<br/>Crossing his arms, Blaine stares down at Verity. "You had testing today."</p><p><br/>"Did I?" Verity feigns surprise, smiling with a shrug. "Must've forgotten."</p><p><br/>Blaine raises an eyebrow. "Because someone who's forgotten they have testing would sneak around like a bandit."</p><p><br/>Verity stares down at the ground and Blaine grabs her shoulder, leading her back to her private room and gently tossing her onto her bed.</p><p>"You're grounded," Blaine tells her as he shuts the door.</p><p><br/>Verity sighs, looking down at the small black and white cat laying on the foot of her bed.</p><p>"Well, that went well, Peanut."</p><p><br/>Fawn hums as she re-shelves all the books the school had taken out that day.</p><p><br/>In the quiet of the library, she felt her old fears returning as they did during every wave.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <em>The wave will be here soon.</em>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <em>What if this time something gets in?</em>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <em>What if we don't make it?</em>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <strong>THE ROAMERS</strong>
</p><p><br/>Nightfall had occurred, leaving the group with only the moonlight. They had flashlights but wanted to save the batteries. Jacob checked his clock, 11:49. With one more mile to go. "Eleven more minutes till the wave, and we're a mile out. And we still need to set up camp before it hits."</p><p><br/>"That sounds impossible." Poppy groans.</p><p><br/>"We can make it." Livia grabs the fourteen-year-old's hand and starts walking a bit faster.</p><p><br/>Jordan shivers as he walks. His hands wrapped around his arms in a sort of self-given hug as he jerks his head from side to side, almost cracking it.</p><p><br/>Barrow speaks up. "We won't be able to make that, better look for somewhere to wait the wave out." With a pat on his thigh, he calls Doll over, his companion coming faithfully.<br/>"No, we can do it." Jacob snaps, before groaning, "Sorry, it's just...the mall will come up soon."</p><p><br/>"Are you s-sure you're all r-right Jacob?" Jordan asks, pausing to cough afterward.</p><p><br/>"Something isn't right. Too many Affected but none are attacking." Jacob finally admits, looking to the stars above, before they disappear in a cloud of destruction in ten minutes.</p><p><br/>"So Jordan. Excited to finally get some sleep?" He says jokingly to his best friend, though the entire group knows they should've killed him long ago.</p><p><br/>Melody squinted. "Am I seeing things or are there lights in the distance?" She asks.</p><p><br/>"It looks like a survivor camp. We haven't run into one since Charleston. We've got to move fast to beat the Wave." Tisha says excitedly.</p><p><br/>Suddenly filled with adrenaline, Poppy and Livia start running.</p><p>"If we run we can make it!" Livia yells.</p><p><br/>"A camp? I'm in, let's go!" Melody cheers, breaking into a sprint.</p><p><br/>Jacob looked at Jordan, his face turning paler and paler by the minute. It seems hope was almost lost in him. If it was a survivor camp, they may not even let Roamers in, surely not Affected. Their ways of life were already planned out, for them to stay inside with no cure, no hope, nothing.</p><p><br/>Jordan was starting to feel faint and he was stumbling more than ever. He kept mumbling the word 'help' over and over again. Then he freezes. His eyes roll up in the back of his head and he crumples to the ground.</p><p><br/>His upper body was up on a sidewalk while his bottom half was draped across the street. Barrow sighs and picks him up.</p><p><br/>Knowing it was bound to happen, he didn't panic as Wolf, Doll, and Jacob ran to catch up with the rest of the group.</p><p><br/>It's time.</p><p><br/>The high-pitch buzzing sounds flood the land.</p><p><br/>"Get to the camp!" Jacob screams to the others. "Run!"</p><p><br/>He stops to look at the stars one last time before sprinting to the others, falling behind as the cloud of death draws nearer.</p><p><br/>Barrow runs as fast as he can with Jordan in his arms, not wanting to leave Poppy's brother alone yet. He couldn't bear the thought of being the reason Poppy lost her brother without getting out everything she needed to say to him.</p><p><br/>That seemed cruel.</p><p><br/>The loud buzzing noises filled the air, and they realized the lights of the camp belonged to the "abandoned" mall they were trying to reach earlier.</p><p><br/>"The fucking map was wrong!" Jacob laughs as they got closer to the mall, the buzzing sounds drawing closer. "We're gonna make it!"</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The Campers Meet The Roamers</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>The Campers and The Roamers</strong>
</p><p>Verity jiggles the small bobby pin she had put into her door, sighing when the door made a small click.</p><p>Opening a door, she peers out into the now dark and quiet mall, creeping her way through the store and into the mall.</p><p>Heading over to the door to the outside, Verity peers through the dusty window, trying to see what the Affected were doing and if they were acting strange.</p><p>Squinting, she noticed a small herd of something running straight towards the mall. Affected? Her breath seemed to stop when she realized who they were.</p><p>Humans.</p><p>"Oi, let us in! We could die out in this ruddy wasteland!" Melody shouts, pounding on the door.</p><p>Yanking open the door, the group of people stumbles in.</p><p>"Holy shit, you're real!" Verity exclaims, "I knew it!"</p><p>"Why...thanks," Melody says, biting back a sarcastic remark.</p><p>Poopy shifts the box of squirming puppies, struggling under the weight. Barrow holds Jordan close, hiding him slightly under his coat.</p><p>"And yeah, definitely real. Last I checked of course." Tisha jokes, flustered from running. Holding her stomach, she slightly jumps as the baby kicks.</p><p>Jacob slams the door behind him before the guards surround the group.</p><p>"Verity, what did you do?" A guard snapped.</p><p>"I just...they needed help, Miles!" Verity protests, "Look at them! They're real! It isn't a myth!"</p><p>She turns back to the group. "You really came from the outside! Have you found books?"</p><p>"Verity! How many times do we need to tell you not to meddle with outside affairs! You're fifteen, act like it!" Miles scolds. "Rue, go get Blaine."</p><p>A tall dark-skinned female guard nods, hurrying off.</p><p>"Sorry," Verity mumbles and hangs her head. "Ohh my god! Dogs!" Verity whisper-yells, quickly cheering up and throwing her arms around Doll.</p><p>Wolf whines, moving to protect Livia, Poppy, and his puppies.</p><p>Eyeing the guards carefully, Barrow adjusts his stance to better shield Jordan. With another glance, he sees all the weapons they carry. His only thought is whether the guards carry weapons to keep outsiders out or their own people in.</p><p>"Oh, come on guys!" Verity protests, standing up, "They're people! We desperately need more people here." She adds turning to the group.</p><p>Livia's gaze fell upon Jordan. She didn't want to say anything in front of the guard, so she just looked at Barrow for answers. What happened?</p><p>"Hey, my name's Melody Flint. I'm the fourth oldest in the group, and I want to know why the hell you guys are threatening us." Melody steps forward, drawing the guard's attention away from Jordan.</p><p>"We're not threatening you!" Verity protests. Blaine briskly walks over to the group, drawing his gun.</p><p>"Well, they might be." Verity looks over at the guards. "C'mon, I know a place where you guys could rest."</p><p>"Verity, you know before we even consider letting them stay we need to thoroughly check them out. And that boy looks sick." Blaine says sternly, grabbing Verity's shoulder and pulling her slightly behind him.</p><p>"Listen, we need a place to stay. Dying out in the wilderness isn't really fun sounding at the moment." Poppy pleads the guards.</p><p>"We're not going to argue with you. We're staying here, like it or not." Jacob growled at one of the guards.</p><p>He was tempted to pull his gun, just to threaten, but he resisted the urge. It wouldn't serve anyone well to start out on the wrong foot.</p><p>"Blaine, please get out of my way." Verity orders. He looks down at her then steps aside in one quick movement.</p><p>Smiling, she turns to the Roamers and beckons. "Come on."</p><p>The other guards step aside and let them all pass, Verity taking the lead.</p><p>Jacob stays behind, beginning a discussion with the guards and watching as Livia gets further and further away from him.</p><p>"That boy can rest in my safe space. No one goes in it but me, so you don't have to worry." She tells them, going up the broken escalator and to the left, past the food court and into the old movie theater.</p><p>Tisha looked at Verity gratefully. "Thanks for vouching for us."</p><p>"It was no problem." Verity replied, "They always listen to me, even if they think I'm crazy to wonder about the outside world. What is it like now?"</p><p>"Outside world? It's a toxic wasteland, full of nothing but death and dust." Melody scoffs.</p><p>"But there are books, right?" Verity asks hopefully, "We only have so many in here." They all walk to the very front row and plop down in the seats.</p><p>Barrow gently lays Jordan down on a seat, and Poppy places the box of puppies down on the other.</p><p>Livia happily took a few old textbooks from her bag. Most of them were science and anatomy-related. "I've got some right here. May not be what you like to read." She offers shyly.</p><p>"Jacob, he's the boss, and he doesn't want us to waste space in our packs," Poppy explains.</p><p>"Well, new books are better than no books at all. I love reading. It's like the only fun thing you can do around here, besides writing stories yourself." Verity looks over the books Livia pulled out, careful not to damage them.</p><p>"They're perfect." She decides, handing them back. Livia beams.</p><p>Verity thinks for a minute, then snaps, a grin on her face.</p><p>"I've got it, wait here!" She says excitedly, rushing off. "Everyone sit down!" Verity calls from somewhere above them.</p><p>The big screen flashes and flickers before turning on and a movie starts to play.</p><p>Verity rushes back down and flings herself into a seat before reclining it a little. "Pretty awesome, right?" She asks.</p><p>"Is this ... a movie?" Livia asked, "That's pretty cool."</p><p>She leans forward intently and watches the people move around on the screen.</p><p>"How much you wanna bet they didn't last a day into the apocalypse?" Melody asks, scorning at the seemingly weak actors and actresses."</p><p>"Hey!" Poppy smacks Melody on the shoulder, "This is my first movie ever, don't ruin it for me!"</p><p>"Mine too, kid," Barrow says gruffly, Doll somehow managing to lie on his lap. Wolf sat lovingly at Livia's feet.</p><p>"It's everyone's first movie, dummy!" Melody laughs at Poppy, "Unless girly over there's seen more."</p><p>"I've seen a few." Verity says quietly, "But the guards say we have to save the electricity."</p><p>Verity sighs wistfully, dreamily staring at the screen.</p><p>"It's so hard to believe people had time to just come to these places with their friends and watch these things without worry." She giggles slightly, "But of course, I don't have many friends. What's the point if you might end up dead?"</p><p>"Friends in the right places might help you end up not dead," Tisha replied, "Of course, I doubt that's what friends were used for back in the day."</p><p>"Oh, no, I've read about it. Friends back then would style your hair and talk on the phone with you about boys and how school was such hell." Verity explains, "And they would go to malls like this all the time and give each other nicknames. The closest I got to a nickname is the one my brother used to call me."</p><p>"Well, I'll call you Vee!" Poppy replies with a grin.</p><p>"You talk about friends like they're some fantasy talk." Melody scoffs.</p><p>"My parents used to call me 'Liv' for short," Livia said, "but I don't have much experience with nicknames. I do like doing hair, though. Would you like me to style yours sometime? It should be quite different doing it on another person."</p><p>"There goes Livy, trying to keep the peace again." Poppy whispers to Barrow, who lets out a low chuckle.</p><p>"My parents called me Tish," Tisha says wistfully, gently rubbing her stomach.</p><p>"What's with that Blaine guy? Is he your leader?" Livia asks.</p><p>"Kinda." Verity shrugs. "Our old leaders are dead. He used to just be a glorified babysitter."</p><p>The group continues chattering on for a few minutes, occasionally pausing when something exciting happens on the screen.</p><p>"I feel disgusting," Barrow announces, looking down at his arms. "I'm covered in grease and dirt. Does this place have sinks?"</p><p>"Ohh!" Verity brightens, "We have showers and brushes if you want to get clean, and entire stores full of makeup."</p><p>"What's makeup?" Poppy asks, tilting her head to the side.</p><p>"Some ancient device that was probably originally used for torture, but now the girls use it whenever we run out of popcorn or chocolate," Verity tells her jokingly.</p><p>"Makeup?" Livia asked, "I've always wanted to try it. Oooh, especially eyeliner!"</p><p>"I've used makeup before, it's annoying. Basically, you put paste all over your face and people think you look pretty." Melody made a face. Barrow and Doll share a look, and Barrow chuckles softly as the girls continued talking about make-up.</p><p>"No one judges based on looks here. Well, maybe the guard that works at the library...but everyone else is more focused on just finding a mate. I'm sure "pretty" died out a long time ago." Verity reassures Melody.</p><p>"Do you think...? I could possibly get my hands on some?" Tisha asks shyly, "I've never used it before."</p><p>"Yeah, probably." Verity smiles warmly.</p><p>Jacob, finished talking with a guard about their situation, had finally found the others.</p><p>Overhearing the conversation, he adds, "Makeup? That is your worry right now? The Affected aren't acting right. Also, we need to get back out there."</p><p>"Well, we can't leave right now. We still have eleven and a half hours before the Wave is over." Livia reminds him.</p><p>He looks to Livia. "We have to leave sooner or later. We sure as hell aren't going to find the cure lazing around a mall all day."</p><p>"Well, it's a good idea to stay awhile and get more supplies. I mean, we don't want to starve to death, do we?" Melody asked sarcastically.</p><p>"I like it here." Poppy adds, "Vee is funny!"</p><p>"Of course, we always get supplies when the waves are over." Verity sighs. "You'd be welcome to join."</p><p>Wolf's ears prick up and he growls at something in the distance of the mall, making Doll growl as well, and go over to her pups protectively.</p><p>Glowing green eyes shine out from the dark, making Poppy shriek. "Affected!"</p><p>All eyes snap over to the corner and Verity laughs as Peanut hops out from the shadows and rushes up to her, jumping up onto her lap and settling down with a loud purr.</p><p>"It's just my cat." Verity giggles, "Everyone, this is Peanut."</p><p>Poppy squeals and begins petting Peanut in a way that could only be described as violent as Livia pulls Jacob away to talk in private.</p><p>"What's up with you?" She asks quietly, grabbing Jacob's hands, "You've been acting so strange lately."</p><p>He looks to Livia. "Don't tell me you want to stay here? This is just another isolation base for people who don't give a shit about us. If we want the cure, we can't just hide out here."</p><p>Livia just about snapped at Jacob, but she took a deep breath. "I didn't say I wanted to stay here. I've still got a cause, but there's no reason I can't have a little fun while we're here. Besides, we all know this group would fall apart without me. Well...not just me, but any of us. Besides, we can't leave until the wave is over."</p><p>"The wave will be over soon, and that is when I'm leaving. With or without you." Jacob looks Livia in the eye, directing the comment to her. He stares at the screen for an instant, before looking away in disgust.</p><p>"What does he have against the movie?" Poppy asks as Jacob stalks off, Livia leaving in the other direction, fuming.</p><p>Melody stands and quickly races after Jacob, with Tisha walking briskly after Livia.</p><p>Barrow laughs and pats the seat next to him. Poppy moves over, looking up at him in confusion.</p><p>"Hey!" Melody grabs Jacob's shirt sleeve as soon as she catches up with him, yanking him into a department store.</p><p>"What-?" Jacob asks but Melody cuts him off.</p><p>"What the hell is your problem?" Melody hisses, letting go of his sleeve and cornering him against the checkout counter.</p><p>"What?" Jacob repeats, looking agitated.</p><p>"Why are you talking to Livia like that?" Melody asks, "You made her upset."</p><p>"Listen." Jacob sighs, running his fingers through his hair, "I'm going through a lot right now-"</p><p>"I don't care if you're on your damn man period!" Melody snaps, "You can't excuse acting shitty towards your girlfriend. For some fucking reason, she loves you. And if you keep this whiney baby act up she will dump you, and I will kill you."</p><p>Jacob takes a step back.</p><p>"It's the fucking apocalypse. You have to trust people. You're not some lone wolf with a tragic past. Cause guess what you asshole? <em>Everyone</em> has got tragic backstories. <em>Including Livia</em>, who <em>told</em> <em>you</em> her story." Melody continues, her eyes glinting warningly, "Apologize to her."</p><p>Sending one last warning look at Jacob, Melody stalks off, and after a moment of thought, so does Jacob.</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. The Looting Of Mrs. Bentley's House</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>The Campers And The Roamers</strong>
</p><p>Tisha finds Livia sitting quietly in the old Claire's.</p><p>"Hey." Tisha sits down next to Livia, who quickly wipes away her tears.</p><p>"What did I do wrong?" Livia asks, her words choked and sharp.</p><p>"Nothing!" Tisha says quickly, gently rubbing Livia's shoulder. "You did absolutely nothing wrong, sweetheart."</p><p>"He never wants to talk to me anymore." Livia sniffles, wiping some tears away. "He's acting so frigid. Recently...He..."</p><p>"Sometimes boys are just dicks. He'll snap out of it soon and realize what a jerk he has been being." Tisha sighs. "You're too wonderful for him to handle. Just because you didn't agree doesn't mean it's over. And, let's be honest, Jacob is under a lot of stress right now, with the tension around Jordan. It doesn't excuse anything...but today's the day."</p><p>"I know." Livia looks down at the ground. "I'm going to miss him."</p><p>"We all will," Tisha says softly.</p><p>"Sometimes, doesn't it just feel like the world is out to get you?" Livia asks, resting her head on Tisha's shoulder. "I mean, obviously, there's the apocalypse. But then...sometimes I just wake up and feel that nothing will ever be okay again. Like, what if we don't find a cure, and we're putting our lives at risk for nothing, instead of staying in a safe place where you can truly sleep at night?"</p><p>"That's some pretty deep thoughts." Tisha muses, "Maybe we should get you some happier books. It does have to feel like that though, doesn't it? But the feelings always pass, sooner or later."</p><p>"But what if it really is over?" Livia asks quietly, staring down at the floor.</p><p>"No, honey, don't say that. You're going to be okay." Tisha pulls Livia close, enveloping her into a tight hug before letting go and standing up.</p><p>"I'll leave you two some privacy." She whispers as she leaves.</p><p>Livia looks up to see Jacob standing by the doorway.</p><p>"I'm sorry." Jacob blurts out as soon as Tisha leaves, quickly rushing over and kneeling next to Livia. "I was being a total asshole to you, for the past week, in fact. And I'm really, really, sorry Livy." Jacob pauses and grabs Livia's hands. "What can I do to make it up to you?"</p><p>"Dance with me?" Livia brightens up immediately, looking up at Jacob with such an adorable look in her face he couldn't make himself look away.</p><p>"I have no clue how to dance." Jacob chuckles softly.</p><p>"Neither do I." Livia holds out a hand tentatively.</p><p>Looking at the hand, then back up at Livia, Jacob takes her hand and allows Livia to pull him to his feet. Livia moves his hands to her hips, placing her hands on Jacob's shoulders.</p><p>Swaying softly, Livia smiles up at Jacob. "We've never danced together before. Why not?"</p><p>"Because we were to busy killing the Affected?" Jacob says with a joking wink, spinning Livia.</p><p>"I guess so." Livia hums sadly, staring down at the floor.</p><p>A few moments of silence pass, Livia and Jacob shuffling around in a box at an attempt at dancing, before Livia leans up on tiptoes and gives Jacob a small kiss. Jacob kisses back and gently picks Livia up before setting her on the checkout counter so they were at the same height.</p><p>"I love you, Jacob. But you act like a real shitstorm sometimes." Livia says breathily in a pause before going to kiss him again.</p><p>"I know." Jacob tucks a stray lock of hair behind Livia's ear, keeping his hand resting on the back of her head. "I'll be a better boyfriend from now on. I promise."</p><p>"Good." Livia smiles, gently biting Jacob's bottom lip.</p><p>Jacob lets out a small moan and his hands move to her shirt.</p><p>"I love you so goddamn much, Livy," Jacob whispers, so close his lip touched just below her ear.</p><p>"I love you too." Livia moves her hand to Jacob's neck and kisses him again.</p><p>The humming of the wave slowly dies down over the next ten hours, and Livia and Jacob stay seated behind the counter, holding each other tightly.</p><p>"We should go," Jacob whispers a few moments later, once the wave was definitely gone.</p><p>Livia kisses him one more time and pulls her shirt back on. Climbing back over the counter, Livia walks back to the cinema with Jacob.</p><p>Verity pulls out her pistol and heads to the front of the mall where a few guards were waiting for their team of scavengers to leave.</p><p>"If the Roamers want to leave, you let them. But you let them back in if they come back, understand?" Verity orders.</p><p>"Yes, Verity," Blaine says gruffly as she goes to wait in the hall.</p><p>"Verity!" Blaine calls after her. She turns around to face him.</p><p>"Yeah?" She asks.</p><p>"Get back here before dusk, we need you for testing." He orders. Verity sighs and blows a few stray wisps of hair out of her view, sitting down on the bench.</p><p>"Okay." She sighs before muttering, "Can't we give it a rest, though?"</p><p>Letting out a low whistle, Peanut runs up to her side. Slowly, the team of scavengers walk to the front of the mall.</p><p>"Well," Lenard, one of the scavengers, says, "It has been a fun night! See you all in a month or two."</p><p>Barron nods to Tom and Harvey, who open the door to let the scavengers out.</p><p>"Godspeed boys." Harvey nods as they leave, "Find us something good!"</p><p>"Be safe, Verity." Blaine tells her, "Come back as soon as you're done."</p><p>"Yes, sir." Verity nods and heads outside.</p><p>"I need my backpack," Jacob repeats to the guard. The guard shakes his head, and Jacob shoves him to the wall, slipping through to the security room. The guard chases after him. Jacob rummages through the storage for his items.</p><p>"Sir, stand back." The guard stands behind him, with a gun drawn to Jacob's back.</p><p>"Put the gun down, Henry!" Blaine yells. "Just let the damn Roamers leave! The sooner they get the hell out of here the sooner everything can go back to normal!"</p><p>Henry lowers the pistol and Jacob grabs his pack and turns around, shooting him a cocky smile. "Much obliged, Henry."</p><p>Putting his pistol away, Henry glares at Jacob but steps away from the door, allowing him to step out of the store.</p><p>Verity quietly opens the door to her house, keeping Peanut close by.</p><p>At the soft creak of the door a male zombie in his early twenties grunts and turns around.</p><p>"Hey, Ryan," Verity whispers.</p><p>Letting out a low groan, the Affected eyes Peanut hungrily.</p><p>"Do you remember me?" Verity asks softly, "Do you remember Peanut?"</p><p>Ryan grunts.</p><p>"Yeah." Verity nods. "Peanut is our cat. You don't want to hurt Peanut."</p><p>Ryan takes a step back, and Verity smiles.</p><p>"I figured I should come. It wasn't fair to leave you like that. But the guards wouldn't let me leave until today." Verity's voice drops back to a whisper. "I'm scared, Ryan. No one in the group has ever been bitten by an Affected before. At most, it's the mosquitoes. It's been two weeks, Ryan, and I don't know what's gonna happen...I don't know if I'll be okay..."</p><p>Ryan takes two steps towards her, groaning softly.</p><p>"I think it's time you go home." Verity says softly, "It's not fair, me keeping you this way just because I can't let go. So I'm letting go." Verity sniffs and slowly raises her gun.</p><p>A loud shot rings out and Verity crumples to the floor, a broken sob escaping her.</p><p>Daniel, one of the younger guards, heads to the classroom, where Fawn and Grace were quietly looking over some paperwork.</p><p>"Did any lab results come back?" Daniel questions Grace.</p><p>"No, not yet." She struggles to lie, and Ryan believes her.</p><p>"Tell me when they do. Verity should be back soon." He orders, turning around and leaving.</p><p>If she told them the truth, Verity wouldn't live.</p><p>Fawn looks down at her hands. She hoped Verity ran far from here.</p><p>
  <em>Why did I agree to help them? The extra food portions helped when my father was sick but now that he is gone, I'm still caught up in this mess.</em>
</p><p>"What are we going to do?" Grace mutters.</p><p>"C'mon. Melody, Livia, let's head out. Barrow is staying with Poppy, Jordan, and the puppies. Tisha, you stay here too. We'll be back soon."</p><p>"You got it, boss." Melody stands and stretches, groaning in satisfaction at the small crack of her joints.</p><p>Heading outside, the three begin to walk up and down the surrounding area, calling out for Verity every few seconds.</p><p>"Hello?" A head pokes out from behind a doorway and Verity breathes out a sigh of relief. "Ohh, it's just you guys."</p><p>"Just us guys?" Melody scoffs, "Sorry we didn't come riding in on the queen's chariot."</p><p>"No! I didn't mean it like <em>that</em>, I just meant..." Verity pauses and smiles. "I'm glad you're here."</p><p>"Why are you here?" Livia asks.</p><p>"Ohh! Uhh, welcome to my house!" Verity makes a sweeping gesture to the pale blue house. "I'd give you a tour, but it's kind of a mess."</p><p>"This was your house?" Jacob looks around, "I thought you lived in the mall?"</p><p>"Well, yeah. After my parents died. But before then we lived here! Regular Roamers, like you! Well, not regular, I mean...we never left...but..." Verity frowns and looks down at her sneakers.</p><p>"Cool." Livia smiles sweetly. "So, you know your way around town? Do you know where the stores are?"</p><p>"Most of them have been cleared out by the scavengers, but I do know a house that is stocked full. The scavengers didn't want all the food in one place." Verity says cheerfully, "Follow me!"</p><p>"Wait." Melody puts her hand out, "First you need to answer some questions."</p><p>Livia and Jacob nod in agreement and Verity takes a small step back, a troubled look on her face.</p><p>"We keep hearing people talk about a vaccine." Livia says calmly, "Do you know anything about that?"</p><p>"About as much as practically everyone else in that mall," Verity says with a sigh. "The scientists are trying to find a cure, but as far as I can tell, are failing miserably."</p><p>"But they keep mentioning you, too." Jacob presses, "How come you're so important to them if you don't know anything?"</p><p>"I don't know, Jacob," Verity says tiredly.</p><p>Shooting Jacob a look, Melody pulls him away.</p><p>"While you were caught up in all your drama with Livia, I overheard a lot more than you two. The guards seemed to think she was a real asset to finding the cure."</p><p>"Why would she be able to help the guards so much in finding a cure?" Jacob whispers.</p><p>"Do we really want to stay and find out?" Melody asks, scowling. "They all seem like bad news."</p><p>"Livia thinks Verity is a good guy," Jacob says, glancing over at the two.</p><p>"Let's just rob the bastards and leave." Melody hisses.</p><p>"That's not what we do." Jacob objects. "We'll follow Verity and take the leftover stuff, but we are not going to rob that group. Understand? They have kids there, Melody."</p><p>"Yeah? And so do we." Melody glares. "We have Poppy and soon we'll have the baby, and Barrow would rather go up against twelve soldiers than have anything happen to Poppy."</p><p>"We'll be fine." Jacob promises, "We've gone this far without anyone's help, and we'll continue to do so. Now let's go."</p><p>Groaning softly, Melody follows behind Livia and Jacob while Verity shuts her front door.</p><p>"Follow me!" Verity says chipperly, leading the group further down the street. After a while, she stops them in front of a tiny grey house. "Here we are!"</p><p>"This is it?" Jacob's nose wrinkles up.</p><p>"Yeah! Mrs. Bentley ran an out-of-house shop. Unless you lived here, you wouldn't know. She was pretty popular with the locals. A lot of her stuff is still here, she locked herself in when the apocalypse started." Verity states.</p><p>"It's so pretty." Livia smiles at Verity.</p><p>"How do you get in if the door is locked?" Melody asks.</p><p>"The scavengers found the spare key. The door is unlocked." Verity hops up the porch steps and opens the door.</p><p>Peanut meows excitedly, rushing inside.</p><p>"Mrs. Bentley also sold catnip," Verity adds, a small smile on her face and Livia lets out a small laugh.</p><p>"Any dog food?" Melody asks, "I'm sure you've seen our dogs."</p><p>"Two adults, eight puppies?" Yes?" Verity says questioningly as the group heads inside. "There's wet and dry food stored in the basement. Take as much as you need."</p><p>"A shopping cart?" Jacob walks over to the shopping cart in the middle of the living room.</p><p>"No clue about that." Verity tilts her head, "But it has probably been there since day one. My brother named it Bobby."</p><p>"Your brother always goes around naming shopping carts?" Jacob asks, beginning to look around at all the items stocked on Mrs. Bentley's bookshelves. "A lot of non-perishables...Rice, canned food..."</p><p>"Does this place have ammunition as well?" Melody asks sarcastically, staggering up the basement stairs and carrying two big bags of dry dog food.</p><p>Verity shakes her head and looks down at Peanut, who was happily rubbing against her legs. "Addict..." She giggles.</p><p>"Don't be rude Melody, just help." Jacob orders as Melody drops the dog food into the cart.</p><p>They quickly grab everything they need and load it into the cart. The group heads back to the mall in silence.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. The Baby</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>The Campers And The Roamers</strong>
</p><p>Poppy looks up as the Roamers and Verity walk back into the mall. Melody was pushing a shopping cart full of supplies and Livia and Jacob held hands as they walked, though Jacob kept a wary eye on the guards.</p><p>You're back!" Poppy cheers, running up to Verity and wrapping her arms tightly around Verity's waist. "You took forever!"</p><p>Wolf runs up to Livia and jumps on her, licking happily at Livia's face. Livia laughs, letting go of Jacob's hand and scratching Wolf behind both ears.</p><p>"Were you bored, baby?" Livia sings, "Did you miss me?"</p><p>Wolf yaps, falling back to the floor and circling her.</p><p>Verity smiles at the Wolf, quickly being pulled away by a few guards as Peanut worriedly follows behind her. Blaine barks orders to other Campers as he leads the group away.</p><p>"He's mean." Poppy pouts and crosses her arms. "I wanted to play with Vee..."</p><p>"You can say that a-" Tisha stops mid-sentence, looking down with a wince at her stomach.</p><p>"Tisha?" Barrow carefully sets Jordan down on a chair, moving over to her. "Is something wrong? Are you hurt?"</p><p>Poppy sits protectively next to her older brother while Melody watches her. Wolf returns to Doll's side, nudging one of the puppies with his snout.</p><p>"Nothing," Tisha giggles nervously. "I just thought that-"</p><p>Stopping again, Tisha lets out a small whimper, her hands moving to her stomach.</p><p>"It's happening, isn't it?" Melody's eyes widen as she looks over at Tisha.</p><p>"No, no, it can't be," Tisha says through clenched teeth, beginning to breathe rapidly.</p><p>"But, it is," Livia tells her gently, placing a hand on Tisha's shoulder. "Take deep breaths."</p><p>"What's going on?" Poppy whispers.</p><p>"No, I'm not ready," Tisha whispers in a strained voice, wincing as another small bout of pain washed through her.</p><p>"Well, the baby isn't going to wait for you to be ready," Melody tells Tisha. Livia shoots a warning glare at Melody.</p><p>"The baby's coming?" Poppy asks, jumping out of her chair and running over to Tisha. "Are they really coming?"</p><p>Tisha gasps softly, looking down at the small stain on her eans, and Livia rushes to cover Poppy's eyes.</p><p>"Hey, no fair!" Poppy protests. "What happened?"</p><p>"The baby's coming." Melody snorts. "Her water broke."</p><p>Livia shoots a dirty look at her, mouthing the word stop.</p><p>"Jacob, please go get a doctor," Livia asks calmly.</p><p>"I'll go get a doctor," Jacob repeats, looking dazed as he rushes off.</p><p>Jacob catches up with a guard that was rushing off someplace, waving his arms to get the guard to notice him.</p><p>"Hey! <em>Hey</em>!" Jacob yells. "We need a doctor!"</p><p>The guard turns, looking Jacob up and down. "What for?"</p><p>"One of our women is having a baby, jackass!" Jacob snaps, shoving the guard's shoulder as if to encourage him. "Get a doctor!"</p><p>The guard growls at Jacob but rushes off to do as he's told. Swiveling around, Jacob's sneakers squeak against the tile as he watches Livia leading Tisha towards him. Tisha stops occasionally with a small noise of pain, looking down at her stomach each time.</p><p>"Sweetheart, the baby isn't going to slow down if you keep stopping each time you feel a contraction," Livia tells her sweetly.</p><p>"I'm not ready, I'm not ready, I'm not ready..." Tisha mutters under her breath, letting out a small yelp of pain at a particularly painful contraction.</p><p>"Well, you gotta get ready, 'cause it's happening sweetheart," Livia says softly.</p><p>Covering her mouth to muffle the nose, Tisha fights back tears and squeezes Livia's hand. "Livia, it hurts!"</p><p>"C'mon, I've got a doctor on the way." Jacob wraps his arm around Tisha's other side, leading her down the long halls of the mall until they are stopped by a man in a long green coat.</p><p>"I'm Dr. Eyal Cadogan, is this her?" The man asks.</p><p>"Yes, this is Tisha." Jacob nods, giving Tisha a light push towards the doctor.</p><p>"Tisha, this man is going to deliver your baby. He's going to take care of you two, right doctor?" Livia asks.</p><p>"I promise she will be perfectly fine." Dr. Cadogan promises. "I've been delivering all the babies here since I was twenty-five."</p><p>"See Tisha? He's got a good thirty-years under his belt!" Jacob smiles.</p><p>Dr. Cadogan frowns. "You will not be needed during this procedure."</p><p>"I'm the leader, I'm going to stay." Jacob challenges.</p><p>"We're going to be fine," Livia promises both Tisha and Jacob. "I'll stay with her, go protect Poppy's innocence.</p><p>"Ohh." Jacob's eyes widen and he takes a step back. "Uhh, okay! Good luck Tisha!"</p><p>Turning on his heel, he runs back the way they'd come.</p><p>
  <strong>CAMPERS</strong>
</p><p>Inside the arcade, Fawn and Grace sat huddled together in the photo booth, looking over a stack of research papers.</p><p>"What do we do with the test results?" Grace whispers. "Sooner or later they're gonna find out Verity is immune. And if we don't tell them we'll get in trouble!"</p><p>"We have to hope it's later." Fawn says grimly, "If they find out, they'll kill her to find a cure, but this isn't something that can be mass-produced. The amount in Verity's system can only cure so many people. Blaine will kill her and use one of the vaccinations on himself if he finds out. We can't let them kill her before I can run more tests."</p><p>"Are you sure you could make the cure mass-producible?" Grace asks, biting at her nails anxiously. "We're not going to kill Verity at all, right?"</p><p>"Of course not," Fawn reassures her. "I just need some more time to test out my different hypotheses."</p><p>"The Roamers that entered the camp said they knew things about how to get a cure. Maybe we should share the information with them?" Grace suggests.</p><p>"Too risky, we need to make sure whoever we share this with is the right person. The Roamers might take the cure for themselves, after all, one of their people is a Stage Two infected." Fawn groans, "I wish we could just burn this, but Blaine is expecting results."</p><p>"Maybe we could make fake test results?" Grace tries again, "Make them think that she's not immune?"</p><p>"That won't work either, they'll shoot her. We have to get Verity out of this mall, and as far away as possible." Fawn decides, her leg bouncing as she thought.</p><p>"Maybe the Roamers will take her. I mean, they don't know her brother bit her, right?"</p><p>"Grace!" Fawn whisper yells and grabs her shoulders excitedly, "You're a genius!"</p><p>
  <strong>ROMERS</strong>
</p><p>"Is everything okay back here?" Jacob asks.</p><p>Poppy was playing with the puppies as Barrow and Melody watched her.</p><p>"Why aren't you helping with Tisha?" Barrow asks. He had moved Jordan back to the movie theater, not trusting the guards in case they had to go somewhere.</p><p>"The asshole doctor got on my nerves," Jacob mutters.</p><p>Melody rolls her eyes. "Jacob, you and Barrow had better go help Tisha or I swear I'll beat you. I'll stay with Poppy and the dogs."</p><p>Barrow and Jacob nod, beginning to walk to where Jacob had left Livia and Tisha.</p><p>"How are we doing in here?" Jacob asks, peering into the store at Tisha, now changed into a blue nightgown.</p><p>Tisha was walking back and forth, panting and occasionally making small noises of pain while Dr. Cadogaand Livia put on surgical masks and gloves.</p><p>"We have to wait for the contractions to be closer together before she should lay down," Livia explains, pointing at the table next to Barrow. "Can you grab those clips and the scissors?"</p><p>"What do you need scissors for?" Jacob asks as Barrow hands them to Livia.</p><p>Tisha looks up at him quizically. "The umbilical cord, Jacob."</p><p>"Ohh, right." Jacob nods, dragging his sneaker against the flor. "Anything I can do to help?"</p><p>"We need more towels and a bucket of water." Dr. Cadogan says, looking over his setup.</p><p>"I'm on it," Barrow says before Jacob can leave. Pushing Jacob slightly towards Livia, he heads off to go find said items.</p><p>"Ohh, owww!" Tisha yelps, looking down at her stomach. "Oww, <em>god</em>!"</p><p>"I think it's time to lay down now, Tisha." Dr. Cadogan tells her.</p><p>"Ahhaaa, you think?!" She snaps sarcastically, "<em>Oww oww</em>, <em>OWW</em>!"</p><p>Out of the corner of his eye, Jacob noticed Livia put her hand on her stomach and wince as Tisha laid down on the medical bed that was placed in the center of the room.</p><p>"Livia?" He asks curiously.</p><p>"God, if it hurts that much, I am <em>never</em> having children." She whispers so only he can hear her.</p><p>"You wanted children?" He asks, turning to her.</p><p>"No." Livia lies.</p><p>"Ahhhhhhhrgh!" Tisha screams.</p><p>"Livia, I need you!" Dr. Cadogan orders. Livia nods and walks over to him.</p><p>"Mmmhhhhhhmmmm, <em>whyyyyy</em>!" Tisha groans.</p><p>"Keeps her calm, talk to her." Dr. Cadogan tells Livia.</p><p>"Breathe, Tisha, just breathe, let it allllll out, and <em>push</em>," Livia says gently.</p><p>"Mmmmmhhhhhmmmm!" Tisha moans and nods, squeezing her eyes shut.</p><p>"That's good, Tisha, keep going." Dr. Cadogan urges.</p><p>"Ahhh, fuuuuuuuck!" Tisha screams, "Get this thing outta meee!"</p><p>"Mood." Jacob hears Poppy whisper from the door of the store.</p><p>"Poppy, you are not supposed to see this! Get out!" He orders.</p><p>"No." Poppy says simply, "Tisha said I was gonna be the baby's Aunt. I wanna stay."</p><p>Tisha screams up to the ceiling.</p><p>"Keep going, keep going!" Dr. Cadogan tells her, "You're doing great!"</p><p>Jacob rushes over to the door and places his hand over Poppy's eyes, despite her complaints.</p><p>"That's it, that's it. You got the tip of the head out, keep pushing, sweetheart." Livia encourages her.</p><p>"Oh <em>god</em>!" Tisha pants, letting out another groan. "This baby better be <em>fucking</em> Einstein!"</p><p>"Who's Einstein?" Poppy asks.</p><p>"That really intelligent man that Livia taught you about a few weeks ago." Jacob reminds her.</p><p>"Ohh, right," Poppy mutters.</p><p>"Ahhhmmmm!" Tisha screams.</p><p>"Yes, yes, yes! <em>Yes</em>!" Livia shouts excitedly.</p><p>"Grab the towel and scissors, quick!" Dr. Cadogan orders. A loud wail cuts through the room and Tisha's head rolls back.</p><p>"Ohh thank <em>god</em>." She repeats. "That was the hardest thing I have ever done."</p><p>That was a lie.</p><p>"Tisha." Dr. Cadogan looks up from looking at the baby, wrapped up in the towel, a few patches of blood still on its little body. "It's a boy."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. The Past</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>ROAMERS AND CAMPERS</b>
</p><p>"I'm an aunt, I'm an aunt, I'm an aunt!" Poppy squeals, jumping up and down.</p><p>Dr. Cadogan passes Tisha the baby, and Tisha stars down at him, her face starstruck.</p><p>Smiling weakly, Tisha lets out a shaky breath. "Yes you are, sweetheart."</p><p>"Woah." Melody breathes out, walking into the store with Wolf at her heels. He trots up to Livia and nuzzles against her legs.</p><p>"Hey, Wolfie boy." Livia coos, reaching down to pet him, "Who is my good boy?" She scratches behind his ears and Wolf howls, his tail thumping on the floor.</p><p>"You never scratch me behind the ears." Jacob huffs. Smiling, Livia stands up and walks over to Jacob, then gently scratches behind his ear.</p><p>"Who's my good boy?" She asks teasingly.</p><p>"Meeeeee!" He groans, then pauses. "Wait a minute...Barrow never came back."</p><p>Tisha snorts, wiping the towel on her baby softly to finish cleaning him. "He probably got lost."</p><p>"Can I see him, can I see him?" Poppy pleads.</p><p>Smiling, Tisha turns around so Poppy can get a full view of the baby.</p><p>"You did good Tish." Melody compliments, vacantly staring at the baby.</p><p>Dr. Cadogan disposes of his gloves and mask and Livia does the same.</p><p>Barrow rushes back into the store holding the bucket of water, his eyes lighting up when he sees the baby.</p><p>"You've got a grandkid!" Tisha jokes.</p><p>"What are you gonna call him?" Livia asks as Dr. Cadogan leaves.</p><p>"Isaac and I...we liked the name, Peter," Tisha says.</p><p>"Peter is a lovely name," Livia comments quietly, placing her hand on Tisha's shoulder comfortingly.</p><p>"I wish Isaac were here," Tisha whispers, a few tears gathering in the corners of her eyes.</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>7 1/2 months ago</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>"I'm not saying it again." Tisha laughs, gently rubbing her stomach, "If it's a girl her name is gonna be Isabella. There's no argument. You carry a baby, then I'll let you pick names."</p><p>Isaac laughs and snuggles up next to her, looking down at the battered baby-naming book Tisha had found. "What if it's a boy?"</p><p>"I don't know." Tisha smiles, leafing through the pages of boy names.</p><p>"Owen? Joshua? Asher?"</p><p>"God no!" Tisha laughs, burying her face in Isaac's shoulder, "Asher sounds like...<em>god</em>, I don't even<em> know</em> what!"</p><p>"You sure do say God a lot for a person that's not religious," Isaac smirks.</p><p>"Religion has been extinct for decades now, I can say what I want." Tisha chuckles.</p><p>"Ohh, what about that one? Peter." Isaac points at the name in the P section.</p><p>"I like Peter," Tisha admits. Isaac pumps his fist into the air.</p><p>"She said yes!"</p><p>Tisha bursts out laughing, carefully cradling her slightly big stomach and bending over.</p><p>"Affected!" Jacob yells from the door, "A whole herd, headed straight for the house!" He and Livia grab their packs and rush out with Wolf, quickly followed by Jordan leading Poppy, Melody following behind.</p><p>"C'mon Doll," Barrow says, grabbing his pack.</p><p>He, Doll, Tisha, and Isaac rush out the back and race after the rest of their group. The moaning from the Affected grew louder as they neared the Roamers.</p><p>"Where's...the nearest...shelter?" Livia pants as they run.</p><p>"That was the nearest...shelter." Jacob wheezes.</p><p>"Don't talk, just run!" Melody barks.</p><p>"But we don't know where we're going!" Jordan retorts.</p><p>"This isn't gonna work, someone needs to hold them off," Isaac tells them, stopping and reloading his gun.</p><p>"Isaac! No, you can't!" Tisha orders.</p><p>"Go, I've got twelve rounds on me!" Isaac smiles and kisses Tisha, "I'll be fine, Tish. I love you."</p><p>"Well, I've got fourteen." Barrow grins, "I'll stay behind too. You guys go ahead."</p><p>"Isaac-" Tisha says before Melody cuts her off, slinging an arm around her shoulder.</p><p>"They'll be fine, we have to go," Melody tells her gently.</p><p>"But-" Tisha protests as Melody and Livia lead them away.</p><p>
  <em>Isaac never came back.</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>Present</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>A few tears slid down Tisha's face and she holds Peter close to her chest.</p><p>"Hey, no more tears," Livia says softly, glancing over at Poppy. The normally bubbly girl suddenly looked terribly sad.</p><p>"Jordan isn't gonna make it? Is he?" She asks quietly.</p><p>"Hey, don't say that." Jacob tells her, "Jordan is gonna be fine."</p><p>"No, he's <em>not</em>." Poppy snaps, "That's what you said about Isaac."</p><p>Everyone stares down at what she said. The crushing reality of the truth was dawning on them. They had tried so hard to keep Poppy happy and innocent through everything. But the truth was, she was fourteen years old.</p><p>Poppy was growing up.</p><p>"That's what you said about Isaac." Poppy repeats in a bitter voice, "And he's <em>dead</em>. We're all going to die. I'm going to die. Melody is going to die. Jordan is going to die. Nowhere and no one is <em>safe</em>."</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>1 month ago</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>"Poppy?" Jordan asks, carefully sitting down next to his sister.</p><p>"Hey, Jordan," Poppy says glumly.</p><p>"What'cha sad about?" He asks, gently nudging her.</p><p>"When is Isaac gonna come back? Barrow said he got separated, but he'd come back soon."</p><p>"Poppy..." Jordan sighs, "I don't think that he's coming back."</p><p>"What do you mean?" Poppy asks, tilting her head.</p><p>"Poppy, it's been six and a half months. I think by now it's positive he's not coming back." Jordan tells her.</p><p>"Ohh." Poppy breathes out.</p><p>"Poppy, I promise-Ahhhh!" Jordan's sentence turns into a scream as an Affected sneaks up behind them and bites into Jordan's shoulder.</p><p>"Jordan!" Poppy screams, standing up and turning around, then plunging her knife into the Affected's head.</p><p>"Help!" Poppy screams for the others, "Barrow, Jacob! Livia, Melody, Tisha! Jordan got bitten by an Affected!"</p><p>"Ohh no, Jordan!" Livia yells as they all rush outside.</p><p>"Aaaarrghh, mhhhhhmmmmm!" Jordan grips at his bleeding shoulder so hard his knuckles turn white. "<em>Fuck</em>!"</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>Present</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>"Poppy..." Jacob starts, then trails off.</p><p>"I'm fourteen Jacob! Why are you keeping me in the dark about necessary information?! I met one of the thirteen-year-olds here, and she seemed <em>so much </em>smarter than me!"</p><p>"Poppy, the children here go to school all week. We could only teach you when we could." Tisha tries. Poppy scowls and storms off.</p><p>"We babied her," Barrow says, regretfully watching her rush away.</p><p>"I know," Tisha mutters. Wolf whines and Livia looks down at him.</p><p>"Are you the Roamers?" A quiet voice asks from the door.</p><p>"Who wants to know?" Melody asks as they all turn to the person who spoke.</p><p>"Gracie-Rose Malloy and Fawn Rallow," Grace tells them.</p><p>"Yeah, we are." Livia tells them, "What do you need?"</p><p>"Your help," Fawn tells them nervously.</p><p>"Our help?" Jacob scoffs, "Ohh, how the tables have <em>turned</em>."</p><p>"Hey, we weren't the ones trying to kick you out when you came!" Fawn protests. Grace shrinks back as the two start to argue.</p><p>"Well, I didn't see you opening the door for us! Or even defending us!" Jacob counters.</p><p>"We were busy with Verity's test results!" Fawn yells.</p><p>"Exactly!" Melody joins in, "You were looking after your own kind!"</p><p>"Our own kind?!" Fawn screams, "When exactly did you guys turn into gods?! We had to be skeptical of you before we could trust you!"</p><p>"How do we know that we can trust you?!" Jacob hollers.</p><p>"Stop fighting!" Livia yells at both of them, "You're scaring Peter, and I'm sick of it!"</p><p>Peter whimpers a truth to her statement and Tisha coos and rocks the boy, trying to soothe him. Wolf barked in concern and snuggles up to Livia, baring his teeth at the strangers.</p><p>"Down boy." Livia scolds. Wolf whimpers, but backs off, still eyeing the two wearily.</p><p>"Please, Verity needs your help. We need you to take her with you." Grace begs, "She can't stay here, she's in danger."</p><p>"Why?" Barrow asks suspiciously. Fawn takes a deep breath.</p><p>"Verity is immune."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. The Escape Plan</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>CAMPERS AND ROAMERS</b>
</p><p>"What?" Tisha looks up from Peter in shock. Grace looks at Fawn and nods.</p><p>"It's true." She tells the Roamers, "If the people here find out she's immune, and that we've been keeping it from them, they'll kill all of us."</p><p>The Roamers share a look.</p><p>"Jacob, we can't leave her here," Livia whispers, gently rubbing his arm and hoping to persuade him.</p><p>"They're outsiders." He whispers to her, "This might be a trap. And now we have Peter..."</p><p>"We can't just leave her here to die, either," Livia argues.</p><p>"We'll do it." Barrow decides.</p><p>"Barrow!" Jacob exclaims, turning to the older man.</p><p>"What?" Barrow shrugs, "You were taking too long."</p><p>"Listen, we aren't against you guys. The only people that are against you being here are the guards." Fawn snaps, "Now will you help us or not?"</p><p>"Only if you come with us." Jacob demands, "If this place is really that bad, we aren't leaving without you."</p><p>"And some more food." Melody adds.<br/><br/>Fawn sighs.</p><p>"We'll get you the food." Fawn tells them.</p><p>"And we have wagons that Tisha, Peter, and the mother dog and puppies can ride in." Grace adds.</p><p>"Honey, I appreciate that, but I don't think I can fit in a wagon. Not now, or anytime soon." Tisha tells them politely. Fawn and Grace share a look.</p><p>"You won't fit in a horse wagon?" Fawn asks.</p><p>"You have horses?!" Livia's eyes widen in surprise.</p><p>"Well, yeah." Grace says nervously, "We're not supposed to even look at them."</p><p>"It won't matter soon, we'll be gone." Melody scoffs. Livia nods.</p><p>"Go get a wagon ready, we'll get some supplies together." She tells Fawn, Grace, and Melody.</p><p>"I'll go look for Poppy." Barrow stands, "Wolf, go stay with Doll."</p><p>Wolf does as told and trots away.</p><p>Jacob wraps his arm around Livia and they walk to the food court. It was bustling with people getting their lunches.</p><p>"How should we do this?" Jacob whispers to Livia.</p><p>"The easy way." She smiles, walking up to the head of the line. Jacob follows her curiously.</p><p>"What do you mean?" He asks.</p><p>Livia ignores him and smiles at the person handing out the food.</p><p>"Hey, I'm Livia, one of the Roamers. Barron sent me, we're leaving soon, and he said we could come get some supplies before we left?"</p><p>The man looks at the pair for a second and Livia decides to do something she's never tried.</p><p>Smiling right at the man, Livia bats her eyelashes.</p><p>They man coughs and turns around, beginning to fill a bag with food.</p><p>"Of course. Orders are orders."</p><p>"Orders are orders." Livia repeats cutely. Smiling at Livia, the man hands her the bag and turns to the other people.</p><p>"Thank you." Livia says, sashaying away.</p><p>"What was that?!" Jacob asks once they're far enough away. Livia scoff.</p><p>"It's called convincing someone to give you food."</p><p>"So...you weren't...?" Jacob asks sheepishly.</p><p>"No!" Livia laughs, kissing him on the cheek, "I love you, not him."</p><p>Jacob takes the bag and looks inside. "This is a lot of food."</p><p>Livia winks. "The power of persuasion."</p><p>Rolling his eyes, Jacob slings his arm around Livia and they head to the front of the mall.</p><p>Livia grabs her bag, and puts the bag of food inside.</p><p>"May I have my weapons?" Livia asks the man manning the weapons station. Another bat of her eyelashes and he quickly grabs her gun, along with another pack of bullets.</p><p>"Can't go out there unprepared." The man winks. Livia smiles and walks away.</p><p>"This is very effective." She mutters. Meeting back up with Jacob they wait with Wolf and Doll for the rest of their team.</p><p>"Poppy?" Barrow calls, peeking into the girls bathroom.</p><p>No answer.</p><p>Grunting, Barrow shuts the door and continues his search. Heading to the movie theater, he finds Poppy curled up on one of the chairs in the second row.</p><p>"Hey." Barrow sits down next to her, speaking softly.</p><p>"Go away." Poppy mutters.</p><p>"Can't." Barrow says simply, "We're leaving."</p><p>"I don't wanna go."</p><p>"Well, I promised your brother I'd look after you." Barrow reminds her, "So I can't leave you. But I can't stay here."</p><p>"Why not?" Poppy grumbles, "They have a school here."</p><p>"I know." Barrow shrugs, "But here's something you'll like. We're bringing the school teacher with us."</p><p>Poppy sits up. "What do you mean?" She asks.</p><p>"The girl that teaches the students, she's coming with us." Barrow tells her.</p><p>"Why?" Poppy asks.</p><p>"She wants to." Barrow pauses, "Listen, Pops..."</p><p>"We have to leave Jordan here, don't we?" Poppy asks.</p><p>"No...Poppy...I think you should mercy him."</p><p>"You want me to kill him?!" Poppy screeches.</p><p>"Shush, shush." Barrow quiets Poppy, gently placing his hand on her back, "It's not murder, Pops, it's mercy. Surely you know that."</p><p>Poppy sniffs. "I...I know...I just...I can't..." She chokes back her sobs.</p><p>"Poppy, we can't leave him here." Barrow reminds her.</p><p>"Barrow, I can't hurt him, I...I can't..." Poppy whimpers, "He...He protected me..."</p><p>"Do you want me to come with you?" Barrow asks softly. Poppy nods, her eyes red with tears.</p><p>Fawn leads two horses out of the makeshift stables behind the mall while Grace stands on guard for any Affected or guards.</p><p>"This is Dozer, and Gloria." She tells Melody, gesturing with her shoulder to the all white mare and light brown stallion. Melody nods and takes Gloria's harness, and the two hook the horses up to a medium sized carriage.</p><p>"Normally guards are here the whole time, watching to make sure nothing happens to the horses." Grace mutters, then turns to the two girls, "So where are they?"</p><p>"With all the pandemonium going on with Verity and the Roamers, they probably thought there were more important things to do." Fawn decides, making sure the horses were hooked up correctly. "Melody, go get the mother dog and her pups, and Livia and Jacob. We can load the food and dogs on now."</p><p>Melody nods and rushes back inside to where she left Doll, Wolf, and the puppies, and where Livia and Jacob were waiting.</p><p>"How are we gonna do this?" She mutters. Glancing around, she smiles and picks up an empty box, then heads back to where Tisha was to grab one of the towels in the room.</p><p>"Hey." Tisha smiles, moving away from where she was looking out the window, cradling Peter, who was now swaddled in a small yellow blanket."</p><p>Smiling, Melody grabs a fluffy towel and places it inside the box. "We're leaving soon. I'm just making a bed for the puppies."</p><p>"Of course." Tisha walks over and peers inside, gently rocking the sleeping baby. "It looks comfy."</p><p>"I hope so."</p><p>Tisha follows Melody out and down the hall. Setting the box down, Melody carefully picks up the puppies and places them in the box.</p><p>Lifting it up, Livia, Tisha, Wolf and Doll follow her outside, and around the back where Fawn and Grace were waiting.</p><p>"Where are Poppy and Barrow?" Fawn asks, "We're pressed for time here, the guards could notice we're missing at any moment.</p><p>"You guys stay with the wagon." Grace tells them, "Livia will find them and I'll get Verity."</p><p>"Hurry back." Melody nods.</p><p>Tisha climbs into the wagon and Grace and Livia head back into the mall.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. The Journey</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>CAMPERS AND ROAMERS</p><p>Grace heads down to the right of the mall, where the scientists had their lab in an old Victoria's Secret store.</p><p>Sometimes Grace thought there were other reasons the scientists chose to put their lab there.</p><p>"Ahh, Grace!" A scientist named Hardy notices her first, "Have my results for me?"</p><p>"Uhh, yes." Grace says, "Verity, can you head outside? Someone needs to see you."</p><p>Verity looks at her in confusion, but hops down, taking her bag of cookies with her.</p><p>Grace shakily hands the forged papers over to Hardy.</p><p>"She's infected, sir. I've already told Barron. I'm taking her to be mercied now."</p><p>Tears well up in Hardy and Abe's eyes.</p><p>"Damn, she was a good kid. I really thought she'd be the one." Abe says sadly.</p><p>"All that work for nothing. Now we're at one hundred and five." Hardy sighs.</p><p>Grace nods, putting on a grim face, then briskly exits.</p><p>"What was all that about? Who am I supposed to see?" Verity asks as Grace grabs her arm and starts tugging.</p><p>"No one. Verity, we're getting out of here." Grace tells her in a hushed voice.</p><p>"What, why? Grace, what's going on?!"</p><p>Peanut meows worriedly, walking loyally by Verity's side.</p><p>"Pack a bag, quick, we'll explain as we're running for our lives."</p><p>"What?!" Verity exclaims as they turn a corner in the mall, running right into Barron and his gang of guards.</p><p>"What's going on?" Tom asks, "Did the results come back?"</p><p>"Yes, have to hurry, bye." Grace barrels past them and heads straight to bedding, grabbing Her, Fawn, and Verity's packs, tossing Verity's to her.</p><p>"Grab your shit, let's get the fuck outta dodge."</p><p>Verity numbly starts to pack her clothes and books, along with her weapons, still in shock at the fact the usual shy and quiet Grace was swearing and being bold all of a sudden.</p><p>Grace throws her stuff into her pack before grabbing Fawn's clothes and weapons and putting them in her pack.</p><p>"Kay, let's go."</p><p>Livia walks back to the old movie theater, finding Poppy and Barrow inside.</p><p>"We have to leave now." She tells them.</p><p>Barrow nods and stands, and Poppy does as well after a moment's hesitation.</p><p>Slowly drawing out her gun, she walks over to the chair where Jordan had been laying since the whole fiasco with Verity earlier.</p><p>Staring down at him, she raises the gun and aims at his head, not being able to help noticing how peaceful he looked as he slept.</p><p>Hands shaking, she slowly squeezed the trigger of the gun.</p><p>At the sound of the shot, the guards were immediately on high alert.</p><p>"What the fuck was that?" Barron asks, looking around the mall.</p><p>"I don't know sir. I'll go check it out. Tom, Ken, come with me." Ron orders, heading towards the direction of the shot.</p><p>Grace hustles Verity back out as soon as they hear the shot, shoving her to the back entrance, where Barron wouldn't see them leave.</p><p>Poppy stands frozen in shock for a moment, then Barrow grabs her arm and they rush out as well.</p><p>Tossing Fawn's pack to her, Grace and Verity stand with the group as Livia, Poppy, and Barrow run out.</p><p>"The guards are searching the whole place, let's go now." Livia orders, helping Poppy onto the wagon next to Tisha.</p><p>Fawn hands Tisha the reins, and she starts the horses in a gallop.</p><p>The rest of the group begins to run.</p><p>Peanut hops into Verity's arms only after a minute of running.</p><p>"Would you explain now?!" Verity asks Grace.</p><p>"Verity, you're immune." Fawn tells her.</p><p>"Wait, what?!" Verity yells, "Why has no one told me until now?!"</p><p>"We were trying to save your ass, stop complaining." Jacob barks.</p><p>Wolf whines, staring at Doll riding in the wagon ahead.</p><p>"She's fine, buddy." Livia promises him.</p><p>"If your dog bangs mine again, we're going to have a chat." Barrow threatens.</p><p>"I said sorry already!" Livia yells. Jacob rolls his eyes.</p><p>"Where's the nearest shelter?" Jacob asks Fawn.</p><p>"We have to get far away. The shelter that's far away enough is a two day's ride away."</p><p>"How many miles is that?" Melody asks. Fawn's nose crinkles up.</p><p>"...A two days ride?" She repeats, her face filled with confusion. Jacob felt like face palming.</p><p>"Like that helps us." Melody snaps.</p><p>"Well, it helps us!" Fawn gestures to herself, Grace, and Verity. "So we'll be fine."</p><p>"See? Everything's fine." Livia promises, panting slightly as she ran.</p><p>"When do you think they'll notice the horses are gone?" Barrow asks. Although he was much older than everyone, and definitely the most out of shape, he somehow seemed to be running quickly with no problems at all, unlike everyone else.</p><p>"As soon as they notice Verity's gone." Grace tells them, "So, maybe twenty or less minutes."</p><p>"Great." Livia hastens her stride.</p><p>They run for a while before noticing a McDonalds.</p><p>"Let's stop there. We can get our bearings." Fawn suggests.</p><p>"Why do we need to do that?" Jacob asks.</p><p>"Our set-up isn't the best." Melody points out.</p><p>Jacob nods and turns into the parking lot.</p><p>Everyone follows and all the runners stop to take a breath.</p><p>"Right. Poppy, get off, you're running. Verity, hop on." Jacob orders, pacing anxiously and keeping an eye out for anyone from the mall.</p><p>"Hey, who made you the leader?" Fawn asks, putting an arm around Verity.</p><p>"Me. As soon as this group was formed." He snarls.</p><p>"No need to argue. Grace, Poppy, and  Verity can ride with Tisha and Peter." Barrow says gruffly, "Grace and Verity can sit in the back seat with Verity's cat, and Poppy can sit with Tisha, Peter, and the dogs in the front seat."</p><p>There's a pause, then Grace and Verity climb onto the wagon and sit down.</p><p>Tisha and Poppy stay seated, Poppy holding Peter, and Tisha with the reins held tightly in her hands.</p><p>"Everyone else okay with running?" Barrow asks.</p><p>Everyone nods.</p><p>"Tisha, don't wait up for us." Livia orders, "Go as fast as you can go, and get to safety, understand?"</p><p>Tisha nods and gives both horses a soft smack with the reins. They take off, quickly leaving the McDonalds behind.</p><p>Plenty of Affected were roaming around, but none were attacking, making Tisha nervous.</p><p>Poppy held Peter tight, and sat as close to Tisha as she could.</p><p>Melody watches as they leave.</p><p>"C'mon, let's move." Jacob orders, "Can't afford to lose any time."</p><p>Stretching quickly, Melody starts her usual running pace again.</p><p>Wolf trots next to Livia happily, panting.</p><p>Why are the Affected acting so weird? Livia muses to herself. Like they know something is happening.</p>
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<a name="section0008"><h2>8. The Night's Reflections</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>CAMPERS AND ROAMERS</p><p>As the group continued to run, although they had spent their whole lives running, they eventually tired out.</p><p>"Ohh my god, a hotel." Fawn pants, coming to a stop alongside the carriage.</p><p>"We have to keep going." Melody says sternly, plopping down on the road and spreading out starfish style.</p><p>Poppy giggles at the sight.</p><p>"Kid, if you're saying that as you're collapsing, you can't talk." Barrow reprimands her, picking Melody up and tossing her over his shoulder.</p><p>"How are you not out of breath?" Fawn asks, still bent over with her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath.</p><p>Stooping down, Barrow picks up Fawn and drapes her over his other shoulder. "Anyone else?" He asks breezily.</p><p>"Show off." Jacob mutters. Melody's eyes slowly drift shut.</p><p>"We should probably stop here, Jacob." Tisha finally says, taking Peter from Poppy and climbing out of the carriage. "I need a real rest on a real bed and so do the girls."</p><p>"I can keep going." Jacob says, slightly boasting.</p><p>"We know you can, tough guy." Barrow winks as he starts to carry an almost sleeping Melody and a pleased Fawn into the hotel.</p><p>"He can't go first!" Verity protests, "There might be zombies!"</p><p>"Right." Livia clicks the safety off of her gun as Verity shakes Grace awake. Livia walks up the the front door of the building and Jacob quickly runs to go in front of her.</p><p>Rolling her eyes with a small smile on her face, Livia watches Jacob go in and shoot an Affected that was wandering around in the lobby.</p><p>"Mercy."</p><p>Livia turns. It was Verity who had quietly whispered the word. Grace was standing slightly behind her, still groggy.</p><p>Livia nods. "Mercy."</p><p>Poppy hops off the carriage and grabs the box of puppies. Doll follows after them as she sets it down near her feet.</p><p>"I'll go hide the horses and carriage behind the hotel." Livia tells Barrow and Tisha. Grabbing the reins and moving them in front of the horses, Livia leads them around the building. Seeing the pool shack, she unhitches the horses and leads them one at a time into the building.</p><p>"It's not ideal." She mutters to Dozer, giving him a pat on the rump. He nickers softly and huddles near Gloria.</p><p>"No funny business." Livia warns, "We already have puppies."</p><p>"Your room is cleared."</p><p>Livia jumps at the sudden voice, relieved to see it's just Grace. "Are you rooming with me?" She asks.</p><p>"No, I'm staying with Fawn and Verity." Grace shifts awkwardly, "I wanted us to stay together. You're staying with that Jacob guy. Melody is with Poppy, Tisha, and Peter, and Barrow has his own room. With Doll and the puppies."</p><p>Livia nods. "That makes sense." Closing the door to the shack she and Grace walk back to the front of the hotel in silence.</p><p>Wolf, ever the loyal dog, was waiting patiently for her by the front door.</p><p>"Aww, c'mere boy." Livia coos. Scratching behind his ears, Wolf let's out a pleased howl as Grace begins the short trek up the stairs.</p><p>Livia and Wolf catch up to her and follow her to the second floor.</p><p>"That's your room." Grace points to room C, before heading into room A.</p><p>Verity and Fawn were already waiting inside, Verity spread out comfortably on one bed while Fawn read on the other.</p><p>"Hey Grace." Verity smiles as Grace closes the door and sits on the opposite end of the bed Fawn was sitting on, facing Verity.</p><p>"Hey." Turning around to face Fawn, she looks down at the book in her hands. "What are you reading?"</p><p>"Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen." Fawn mutters, turning a page.</p><p>"That sounds difficult." Grace frowns, playing with the sleeves of her flannel shirt.</p><p>"Here, I brought this for you. Stole it from the library." Without taking her eyes off her book, Fawn reaches into her bag and rummages around for a moment before handing her a book called Fish In A Tree. "It's about a girl with Dyslexia. Like you."</p><p>Grace looks down at the book hesitantly. "It's pretty big."</p><p>"Do you really want to live your life off Junie B. Jones and Judy Moody?" Verity asks, still upside down, Peanut lying on her chest. "Just remember, if a sentence doesn't look right, flip some of the letters until it does."</p><p>"Right." Grace nods and looks at the first page, beginning to read silently to herself, mouthing out the words as she read. Verity looks around the hotel room boredly, and stares at Peanut, who had peacefully dozed off, purring and still laying on her chest.</p><p>Smiling, she drifts off as well.</p><p>Poppy yawns as she tries to get comfortable next to the sleeping Melody, but she couldn't stop thinking about Jordan.</p><p>Why couldn't he have been immune instead of Verity? Why did he have to be the one to die?</p><p>The thoughts plagued her.</p><p>Was there really some God up there in the sky, taking away her parents, and then her brother, her best friend? Why did people like that guy before the apocalypse?</p><p>She just couldn't wrap her head around it.</p><p>To think, before the apocalypse, Poppy's ancestors, long gone by now, were in Mexico, Argentina, and Chile? How had her parents ended up in Ohio, the state where Poppy was born?</p><p>So many questions swirled around her head.</p><p>On the other bed Tisha was also sleeping peacefully, an arm protectively around the makeshift bed-cradle Peter was asleep in.</p><p>Did her parents act like that when Poppy was born?</p><p>Frowning, Poppy quietly gets out of bed and heads out onto the balcony. Peering up at the sky, she sighs in relief when she sees the stars shining through the clouds.</p><p>Barrow was also having a hard time getting to bed, as he kept getting up to take care of Doll and the pups, even though he knew he should probably leave them alone.</p><p>Climbing back into bed for the eighth time, he doesn't even lie back down, and feels tears prick at his eyes.</p><p>Gosh, he missed that boy. Jordan and Poppy...He remembered the first time he saw them. Alone, their parent's dead and turned, crying inside of an abandoned restaurant, under a table. A scared six year old boy holding tightly to his three year old sister.</p><p>Barrow had practically raised the two for four years on his own, before meeting Tisha, Issac, and Melody. Then Livia and Jacob had come along, and now those new girls.</p><p>But Jordan...Jordan was special. No matter how grim things were. No matter how many people had joined their group only to die a few weeks later, Jordan could bring a smile back onto Barrow and Poppy's faces. He was one-half of Barrow's heart, and Poppy was the other.</p><p>And now he was gone.</p><p>Those four years alone. Barrow couldn't help thinking every night that Jordan and Poppy were like reincarnations of his own children, Isabella and Ethan. Like God had realized his mistake of killing his children, and had sent them as an apology.</p><p>Sure, Barrow knew he should never compare Poppy and Jordan to Isabella and Ethan, and for the most part he didn't.</p><p>But on his worst days, he always knew that Jordan and Poppy were still there, still alive. So he had to stay alive too, to protect them.</p><p>But now all he had left was Poppy.</p><p>Walking into the room, Livia almost shrieks when she sees a real, non filthy, queen sized bed. Taking a flying leap she flops down on the bed face first and groans as her face sinks into the pillow.</p><p>Jacob, having just finished taking what remained in the mini fridge and putting it in his backpack, smiles as Livia flips herself over and grins at him. Wolf makes himself comfortable on the floor near the door, keeping an eye out in case any bad things tried to hurt his human.</p><p>"One bed?" She asks.</p><p>"Hope you don't mind our guest." Jacob smirks, looking at the dead Affected laying on the other bed, blood seeping into the mattress. "I mercied him, but I didn't want to touch him."</p><p>"Baby." Livia teases, laying on her stomach and aimlessly moving her feet around in the air.</p><p>"Uh huh, sure. Remember that time in Louisiana?" Jacob asks, sitting down next to her.</p><p>"Shut up." Livia laughs. Jacob grins and looks down at the bedspread.</p><p>"Do you want to play a board game." He asks nervously, standing up. "It's been so long since we've had time to just sit and talk, I don't really know what to do..." He rambles, pausing when Livia stands and holds his hands in hers.</p><p>"I just want to be here with you." She says softly.</p><p>Jacob takes in a deep breath. "I think I can do that." He says shakily.</p><p>Livia smiles and kisses him.</p>
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<a name="section0009"><h2>9. A Call With An Old Friend</h2></a>
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    <p>Livia yawns and sits up, squinting in the harsh morning light.</p><p>"Jacob?" Livia whispers, turning to the still sleeping figure next to her.</p><p>At no response, Livia smiles softly and climbs out of bed, grabbing her shirt of the chair. Pulling it on and buttoning it up, Livia pulls on her jeans and heads downstairs, following the signs leading to the small restaurant in the hotel.</p><p>Walking into the kitchen, Livia notices almost immediately the Affected chef stuck in the freezer. How it had gotten there in the first place, Livia had no clue.</p><p>Maybe they had locked themselves in after being bitten. Or maybe someone had locked them in there.</p><p>Either way, an Affected was still an Affected, a major risk to their group if released.</p><p>Pulling out her gun, Livia clicks the safety off.</p><p>In one swift motion, Livia opens the freezer door and shoots the Affected as it lunges for her.</p><p>It drops to the ground and Livia's fingers twitch as she stops herself from bending down and looting the corpse.</p><p>Those days are behind me.</p><p>Tisha...well, Tisha did not have the best night.</p><p>Just as the sun rose, so did Peter.</p><p>With a scream.</p><p>Quickly waking and racing him to the first floor, Tisha tries her best to calm Peter down, but it takes more than a few minutes to get him quiet.</p><p>Sighing in relief, Tisha feeds him.</p><p>"He's got to be kept quiet."</p><p>Tisha looks up and smiles at Jacob's groggy voice, his hair sticking out in all places and his clothes wrinkled.</p><p>"As do you."</p><p>Jacob goes bright red. "What...Ah..I don't..." He stammers.</p><p>"I made breakfast!" Livia yells from the kitchen. Jacob and Livia both look to where the sound came from and follow it down the hallway and into the restaurant.</p><p>"As long as you used protection." Tisha whispers, sitting down at one of the tables near the front of the room.</p><p>"Tisha!" Jacob whines as Livia comes out, grinning madly.</p><p>"Look what I managed to make." She dramatically brandishes two bowls of oatmeal and sets them down on the table. "What do you think?"</p><p>"Is this oatmeal?" Tisha quickly begins eating big spoonfuls from the steaming bowl, and groans in satisfaction. "This is excellent, Livia."</p><p>Tisha cradles Peter gently as she continues to eat, and Livia returns from the kitchen with another bowl for herself. Slowly, the rest of the group files into the restaurant and Livia makes them all bowls of oatmeal using the pot of water she had been heating over a fire outside.</p><p>Melody hums as she takes the last bite of her oatmeal. "I could stay here forever."</p><p>"Well, we can't." Jacob tells her, switching into his group leader role. "We're too close to the mall and they search parties could find this place easily."</p><p>"Geez, I didn't mean literally. I meant, if there wasn't a search party looking for Verity." Melody grumbles.</p><p>"Sorry." Verity says quietly.</p><p>"Jacob." Livia whispers, reaching her hand under the table and placing it on his leg.</p><p>Jacob glances over at her and shrinks back. "No, I'm sorry, Verity. That was rude of me."</p><p>Verity looks up at him, shock etched onto her face, and she slowly smiles. "Thank you."</p><p>"Ryan!" Fawn suddenly yells, jumping up, "Ohh Verity, I'm so sorry! I had forgotten about him!"</p><p>"It's alright." Verity smiles sadly. "It was peaceful. I'm just sorry you couldn't come to his funeral."</p><p>"Wait, your brother Ryan, that's the one you were talking about earlier?" Livia remembers, "You mean he just...?"</p><p>"I mercied him the day that we looted Mrs. Bentley's house." Verity tells her.</p><p>"That's horrible." Tisha murmurs, gently bouncing Peter.</p><p>"It's fine, really." Verity giggles nervously. "I'm feeling a little worse now that everyone's talking about it. Especially since he was probably the one to make me immune."</p><p>"Are you serious?" Barrow asks. Verity and Fawn nod.</p><p>"Grace and I figure that Ryan must have had a mutation in his blood that activated once he turned Affected. Anyone he bit would get a small dose of the mutation, like a vaccine. The vaccine, is now currently in Verity's blood." Fawn tells them.</p><p>"Especially since he just got sick one day and died. At least according to Verity." Grace adds.</p><p>"You used to be Roamers." Melody says, "You said that at your house."</p><p>"Our parents died, and it was just him and I for a while. Then one day he got sick, and died a few hours later, out of the blue. He hadn't been bitten, and it wasn't during a Wave." Verity stares down at her oatmeal, a cold feeling settling in her stomach. "I'm not hungry anymore."</p><p>"So what's the game plan here?" Poppy suddenly asks, looking at everyone. "Are we supposed to get her to a lab? Are we going to a different state?"</p><p>"Well, Grace, Verity, and I are going to a college in California. That's where we last had contact with Persephone, Marx, AJ, and Conan."</p><p>"Wait, you've had contact with people in another state?" Jacob asks.</p><p>Fawn nods, chewing a bit of her food as she reaches into her pack and pulls out a walkie-talkie.</p><p>"The last time we had contact with them, someone had lead a herd of Affected to Persephone and they were holed up in the college." Grace recounts all the details to the group as Peter lets out a loud sniffle.</p><p>Fawn presses the call button and a loud crackling sound rings out through the hotel's restaurant.</p><p>"Hey, hows my favourite deserters?" A loud male voice from the other end finally asks.</p><p>"Marx!" Grace cheers, grabbing the walkie-talkie. "I missed you! How's AJ?"</p><p>"AJ is fine." Marx tells Grace, "Persephone is being a whiny bitch, like always."</p><p>There's some faint giggling from Persephone and AJ.</p><p>"What about Conan?" Fawn asks, bending over the table.</p><p>There's a pause, and Marx clears his throat. "He didn't make it."</p><p>A silence settles over the group as the Roamers all look at the three Campers worriedly.</p><p>"Shit." Fawn mutters. "I'm gonna miss him."</p><p>"Where are you?" Melody suddenly asks.</p><p>"Hey, who is that?" Persephone asks, "Are those the people in the mall? You said they didn't know about us!"</p><p>"No, Flower, it's some more Roamers that came to the mall." Grace explains, "We found the cure."</p><p>"Before us?" Marx exclaims, "Unfair, you two were the ones that gave up!"</p><p>"Marx!" An excited voice yells, "Did you not hear them? They found the cure!"</p><p>"Holy shit you're right." Marx's voice breathes out.</p><p>"Marx?" Grace leans towards the walkie-talkie. "Who's that?"</p><p>"Sup, I'm Fig." The voice introduces themselves.</p><p>"She just joined our team." Marx explains. "So, where are you guys? I'm guessing it's time to meet up."</p><p>"We're in Ohio. Where are you guys?" Jacob asks. Peter sniffles and Tisha stands, heading out of the room to take care of him.</p><p>"Montanna. That was the original plan."</p><p>"So, what do we do?" Livia asks. "Meet in the middle?"</p><p>There's a puse and Persephone can be heard clearing her throat. "Yeah. See you hopefully all alive in Iowa?"</p><p>"Sounds like a plan." Fawn nods.</p>
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<a name="section0010"><h2>10. The Girl</h2></a>
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    <p>"We should get moving then." Barrow stands and stretches. "The search party for you three could be here any minute n-"</p><p>"Jacob!" Tisha's panicked voice calls from outside the room.</p><p>The group bursts up, racing out with weapons drawn for what they thought to be Affected, so they all stopped in shock when they were faced with a little girl. She looked about eight, with soft pink hair and brown roots, and little stars drawn on her face like freckles.</p><p>"Lunar?" Verity, Grace, and Fawn ask at the same time. The girl smiles when she sees the three, moving forward to hug Grace, then Verity.</p><p>"You, you know her?" Tisha asks, holding Peter close.</p><p>"Yeah, yeah, she's from the camp..." Fawn mutters, her eyes widening in panic, "They're not here, are they Lunar?"</p><p>"No." Lunar says in a steady voice, staring up at Fawn and Livia. "But they will find you here soon. We must go."</p><p>"How did you know we were here?" Livia asks, bending down so she's eye to eye with Lunar.</p><p>Lunar shrugs. "I heard Gloria and Dozer."</p><p>"Right..." Tisha says, rocking Peter, who was still sniffling and whimpering. "Shh..."</p><p>"Everyone pack up their stuff. Melody?" Jacob orders, turning to Melody, "Can you help Fawn hitch the horses up to the wagon when you're done?"</p><p>"Sure." Melody races up the stairs and back to her room, grabbing her backpack and starting to shove her gear back in. Pausing for a second, Melody stares out the window at the sky, alight with a mix of different colours, the sun just rising above some of the smaller buildings.</p><p>Livia reaches out and grabs Jacob's hand, squeezing it slightly and shooting him a reassuring smile.</p><p>Everyone heads off to pack, except Jacob and Fawn, who kneel down to look at Lunar.</p><p>"How did you walk all this way?" Fawn asks, gently touching Lunar's arm. "Does your mother know you left?"</p><p>"No." Lunar shakes her head. "I got bored without Verity to play with me. So I left."</p><p>"Did anyone notice you leave?" Jacob demands, "Guards?"</p><p>"No one notices the kids sneak around." Fawn and Lunar say at the same time.</p><p>"No one notices the kids until they're old enough to get jobs and pull their weight." Fawn explains, "Until then we basically just roam around, sleep, eat, and go to school."</p><p>"Fawn was going to be a teacher." Lunar says randomly. "I wanted to work with the animals."</p><p>"No, you wouldn't like that job." Fawn says, bending down. "It wasn't as nice as they made it sound."</p><p>"I know." Lunar nods. "I wanted to make sure the animals were happy before I killed them."</p><p>"Ohh." Fawn leans back, slightly shocked. "Well...At least you wanted them to be happy!"</p><p>"We don't have time for this." Jacob reminds them, turning to head for the stairs, "Go get your stuff. It's almost time to go."</p><p>"Right. Lunar, we're going to drop you off close by, and I want you to wait there until your mom-"</p><p>"No." Lunar interrupts, going to the door and grabbing a small, pink and blue backpack. "I want to come with you."</p><p>"Lunar." Fawn groans inwardly. "Your mother will be worried sick about you, you can't just come with us."</p><p>Lunar glares up at Fawn, who mumbles an excuse and rushes upstairs to her room.</p><p>"Come up to my room, I have to get my stuff, and you're not leaving my side." Jacob orders.</p><p>Lunar rolls her eyes, breezing past him and starting to run up the stairs. Jacob quickly follows, soon taking the lead, and Lunar follows him into the room where Livia is already packing.</p><p>"I'm coming with you." Lunar insists to Livia. Livia turns, a confused look on her face.</p><p>"She is?" Livia asks, zipping up her bag and pulling it on.</p><p>Jacob sighs. "No. She's not. You're going back home to your mother."</p><p>Jacob grabs his spare pair of jeans, shoving them into his backpack and packing all his other things.</p><p>"Lets go, before they get here." Livia holds her hand out and Jacob grabs it. Livia squeezes his hand comfortingly, moving back to the first floor.</p><p>Everyone was already downstairs, and Fawn and Verity could be seen outside bringing the horses and wagon to the front.</p><p>"Time to get out of dodge." Melody murmurs as the group heads outside.</p><p>Livia picks Lunar up, setting her on top of one of the crates of supplies and smiling at her. "You can ride here until we can get you back to your mommy."</p><p>"I'm coming with you." Lunar repeats. Livia sighs, shaking her head.</p><p>"How's Peter?" Grace asks softly, helping Tisha onto the wagon.</p><p>"Better, I think!" Tisha chirps. "He looks a lot more pink, and a lot less...covered in blood."</p><p>Grace's nose wrinkles up and she makes a quiet noise of disgust.</p><p>"Alright, everybody on." Barrow holds his hand out to Poppy, pulling her onto the wagon. Verity climbs on with a huff, pulling Grace up after her. Fawn and Livia climb onto the back, sitting next to Lunar. Peanut curls up on Verity's lap, keeping a weary eye on Doll and Wolf, who laid in the back with the puppies.</p><p>"You too, princess." Barrow holds out his hand to Melody, who shakes her head.</p><p>"I can run. It's faster." Melody argues.</p><p>"It'll be fine. Dozer can carry a lot of weight on his own, this will be nothing to them since he has Gloria. Gloria is tough as nails." Grace explains.</p><p>"Jacob's running." Melody points out.</p><p>"Jacob is not running." Barrow argues. "No one needs to cause a distraction right now. Don't be so reckless."</p><p>"But I-"</p><p>"Get your ass up here boy." Barrow cuts him off, grabbing him by his shirt collar and lifting him onto the wagon like a puppy, then doing the same to Melody.</p><p>Fawn whistles and the horses break into a gallop.</p><p>"So, what's the plan?" Verity asks, looking as Jacob pulls his map out of his pocket, glaring at Barrow.</p><p>"We drop the kid off and head west." He announces. "To Iowa. We get Fawn and Grace a space for them to work with their teammates, make the cure, and everybody goes home happy. Deal?"</p><p>"Deal." Grace nods.</p><p>In the front seat of the wagon, Fawn frowns to herself.</p>
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